I’m doing my first (and probably only) half marathon of the year this weekend! It’s actually only my third race of the year too.

I’ve only done 3 double-digit runs this year, and one of them was on January 1st, so my expectations are low. But I’m excited to just get out there and be in a race again!

I just realized I left out an important part of my life update the other day

Marshmallow reached the ripe old age of 16 this month. Despite what this picture suggests, she’s still as active and sassy as ever.

The update

Alright here’s that life update I threatened to post last week. The tl;dr version is that I am in a slightly different place in my life compared to the last time I posted (2020 to early 2021ish), but in many ways I feel like I’m in a similar place in my life as I was in my early 20s, and it’s made me miss posting on tumblr.

2021: this was a year with a lot of career growth for me - we were getting a lot of new projects, and I was able to join projects in roles that I had not previously filled before. Halfway through the year, I found out that we were being acquired by a much larger consulting firm. There were many benefits and drawbacks that came (and continue to come) from that. From a fitness perspective, I also trained for and completed my second Ironman (it was actually 2 years ago exactly today.) Shortly after that race, things got *very* busy at work.

2022: late 2021 to early 2022 was the most stressful period of my life with respect to work. There were times that I was working on 5-8 projects at once, and trying to be the project manager/primary contact on 3 at once. March/April 2022 was definitely a low point for me, and I was starting to get very burned out. Around this time I finally started rolling off of projects, but it took me until probably August/September to feel motivated by periods of stress instead of worn down/frustrated by them. This time period definitely took a toll on my fitness too. I completed a marathon in April (I think my mileage maxed out at 30, so I was likely operating off of old Ironman fitness), and I did a few summer triathlons too. In the Fall I trained for another marathon, but unfortunately had my first DNF due to knee pain from mile 13-18.

2023: This year has been much more manageable from a work perspective - I’ve been the project manager on one project, and have supported a handful of other projects/internal efforts to a lesser degree. This year has been even worse than the last in terms of fitness though, because I was dealing with hip pain from January through July. I started physical therapy for it in March, and did a PRP injection at the end of June. So far I’ve been doing well since ending PT, though I haven’t really had a chance to built my fitness back up.

So I guess that brings me to the present day - I want to figure out what fitness means for me in my 30s. I would love to get back to the level of fitness I had in my 20s, but I do think that I prioritized my level of fitness over other important areas of my life before, and I don’t want to do that again (or at the very least, I don’t want to do that for long periods of time). I don’t want to let my house to become an absolute wreck, and I want to make sure that I’m maintaining my joints/ligaments/bones so I can keep doing this for a long time. I actually got a dexa scan done last year, and between the results of that (I was in the 24th percentile) and my recent joint issues, I think strength training needs to be a priority, even if it’s not my favorite type of workout. I know being in your 30s doesn’t make you old, and many people reach peak fitness in their 30s, but I’m starting to realize that I need to do things differently now if I want to be one of those people.

I might become a person here again. Idk, I kind of miss it.

Birthday 50K race report

Intro and tl;dr version:

A year ago I was looking forward to this Fall for a few different reasons: Fall racing (which is always my favorite), and my 30th birthday, which is a great excuse to go on a fun trip. Obviously neither of those were going to be possible this year, so this Summer I started to think about other fun ways to celebrate my birthday and do something that would give me a sense of accomplishment similar to a big race. Doing something like a solo marathon or half did not sound appealing - I need a race setting to distract myself from the pain. I thought going for a new distance seemed doable though, so I eventually decided I could try to run 30 miles for my 30th birthday. Then figured that I might as well add the extra 1.1 to make it a 50K. My birthday is two days after Halloween, so the run became 31 miles on the 31st for my 30th birthday. I also liked this plan because it gave me a chance to celebrate with friends in a more covid-friendly way (i.e. outdoors). And to keep this tl;dr I finished in 5:14:11 including refueling and restroom stops. I had several friends run and bike with me, which made most of the miles fly by, and it was a great way to celebrate my birthday.

Race morning:

I ran at a park about 35 minutes away from home that is very flat and has trails suitable for horses (wide, well maintained, combination of gravel and dirt). I didn’t plan my exact route beforehand, so the distance is unofficial. I figured I would just run loops with breaks at the parking lot to refuel. Since this was the day before Daylight Savings ended sunrise was around 8:15, so that was my planned start time.

Loop 1 (8.3 miles)

I ran this with my runner friend, Thomas. He got lost on the way there, and I thought I was going to be running the first loop solo, but fortunately he called right before I was about to take off. Once he found the right parking lot and got everything together (and once I got my Garmin live tracking working), we took off. It was my first time seeing Thomas since September, so it was nice to catch up. It was a pretty cold start, around 35 degrees, but there was lots of sun and hardly any wind. There was tall grass surrounding most of the trail, which was covered in frost and and sparkling in the rising sun. When we reached the portapotty at mile 3.5 we both made a quick pit stop, and then made the final 1 mile loop before turning back. About a mile out from the parking lot we started at I spotted two my tri friends, and they joined our running group. When I made it back to the parking lot another tri friend was there on his bike. I refilled my water bottle, grabbed some more clif blocks, and headed out for loop two.

Loop 2 (8.3 miles)

The 5 of us started together, but one of my tri friends, Eric, is getting back into running and wanted to do a longer run. He and the guy on the bike (Brian) decided to fall back a bit. So it was Thomas, Stephanie and I... fortunately Stephanie is pretty chatty, so the next loop flew by just as fast as the first. When we were about two miles out from the parking lot (so around mile 15) two other tri friends, Chris and Stephanie showed up. Then a mile out we found Ryan. Since a few people are more 10 minute milers than 9 minute milers I tried to slow down a bit so everyone could hang together. When I got back to the parking lot I expected Thomas and Stephanie 1 to drop off, but Thomas decided he wanted to do 20 miles, and Stephanie said she could do a few more miles too. One other friend, Danielle, was there to run as well. So after another water bottle refill we headed out again for just over 3 miles. I was feeling pretty good for being almost 17 miles in, which was promising.

Loop 3 (3.2 miles)

We decided to take a slightly different route this time around, and it ended up being a bit muddy/puddle-filled. At this point my legs were starting to get fatigued, so the mud and puddle dodging was more tiring than it was on the first two loops. Ryan, Chris, and Stephanie 2 all turned around around a couple of minutes early, while Stephanie 1, Thomas, Danielle, and I ran somewhere around 1.6 miles out. As we turned I could tell Stephanie 1 and Thomas were tired, the extra 3 miles were longer than either of them planned for. When we got back to the parking lot I was just under 20 miles, and I figured it was the perfect time for a more extended break, where I could reapply sunscreen, put on my mask, and stop into the (indoor!) bathroom.

Fun story: I almost got myself locked in the bathroom. The door didn’t have a real knob to turn for the lock, but there was a small hole I could still stick my finger in to lock the door. It was a little rusty though and so afterwards I couldn’t get it to go the other way! I tried sticking my nail in but they were soft from sweat, so I couldn’t get it to move. I was just about ready to roll under the partition when it finally came undone.

The one thing I didn’t do on this break is refill my water bottle, because it still felt half full and I wanted to switch what I was drinking on the next bottle. I figured we’d do another short loop and head back.

Loop 4 (5 miles)

Once I got going again it was just Danielle and I. We got to chat a bit more now that the group was smaller, which was nice because she lives a bit further away so I don’t see her as much. About 2 miles into this loop I ran out of water. I told myself I’d turn around soon after so I could go back and get more, but we ended up doing a short loop instead of an out and back. After a little over a mile without fluids I asked Danielle if I could steal some of her water, and fortunately she had enough to spare and dumped some of her water into my bottle.

When we got back to the parking lot I knew this would be my last stop before the “finish line,” so I quickly refilled my water bottle, then walked around the parking lot to get in a bit more mileage while I waited for Danielle to be ready. Brian (the guy who had been on the bike most of the day) was there as well, and he said he was going to run to the 2nd parking lot with us (about 1.5 miles) then wait for us and run back. Brian had a mountain biking accident earlier in the year that resulted in a broken rib, so he was still getting back into running. By the time we were ready to go I was right around 25 miles, so I decided that a 3.05 mile out and back would be the best way to finish the run.

Loop 5 (6.1 miles)

As we headed out for the last leg of the run I noted how much less reactive my legs were to the puddles and mud spots along the trail. But I knew that 3 miles out was a short run, and then I’d just have to make it back. A little before hitting the 2nd parking lot I reached 26.2 miles on my watch, which meant that it was all a distance PR from there (give or take some GPS error). Once we hit the 2nd parking lot Brian fell back, and Danielle and I were on our own again. After going through the underpass to cross a major road we ran into Eric and another tri friend Claudia, both of whom were on bike now. They joked about how difficult it was to find us and then started following along. Getting to mile 28 seemed like it was taking forever at this point - Danielle and I were both tired so neither of us were talking much, and I’d reached that point in any long race where you feel like you aren’t checking your watch much, but every time you check only .1 miles has passed. Once my watch finally showed 28.05 I turned around, and the miles seemed to pass a little quicker from there. Danielle and I took our last walk break right before the underpass, and we both laughed about how long those last couple of miles felt. Shortly after that we picked up Brian, and the five of us were heading into the home stretch. With about a half mile to go Eric and Claudia biked ahead, and Danielle and Brian started dropping back a bit (or I was speeding up 🤷‍♀️😆). As I made my way around the final bend I saw my husband, Claudia, and Eric taking a video. I waved as I passed, then checked my watch for 31.1. I did it! I was a (very unofficial) ultra-marathoner!

Post run:

My husband had gotten there a bit earlier, but he went to pick up some doughnuts and coffee, so this was my first time seeing him. Shortly after I finished Danielle and Brian came through, and we all stood around for awhile to eat donuts and chat (Danielle and I also had some chips I brought because I knew they’d be the best post-run).

Literally haven’t posted since April. I’ve started to draft posts several times, but every time I do so, I feel like I need to summarize everything that’s happened since then. And tbh, for the year that it’s been, I can’t complain. But because it’s December, I think about all the things I’d normally do, and all the people I’d normally see. I haven’t done any of that this year, and man I’m missing that. So I think I’ll just leave things there for now.

Got this from the grocery store yesterday and just noticed the sell by date. Tart cherry juice concentrate must not be moving very quickly right now 😂

Last night I had a dream that it was November, and we were finally getting back to normal/people were coming out of quarantine. And then I realized “wait a minute, wasn’t it just April? Where did the time go?” When I woke up I felt better at first but then I realized that this could actually happen. 😂😬

In reality though, this whole quarantine thing hasn’t been too bad for my family, which I’m regularly grateful for. I am one of those people who does not need a lot of social interaction to feel normal, although I have found myself reaching out to people more than I usually would. My husband and I are still able to work (from home instead of an office of course.) My husband is probably affected a little more because he had a lot of meetings with potential clients and he can’t do those anymore, but he is on the phone a lot. We have had some clients put projects on hold at my company, but on my project we’re still making progress, which is nice.

My brother and his girlfriend are sick and have been tested for covid-19, but they’ve both had fairly mild symptoms, and they’re both in their mid-20s and otherwise healthy, so I’m hoping they won’t get any more sick than they are.

From a fitness perspective, I was able to bump my running mileage up to 40 MPW since I started staying at home a month ago (except last week, where I backed off a bit to 36 for some peroneal tendon pain, which was likely from rolling my ankle last Monday.) I’ve also been doing more yoga since I can’t make it to the gym right now, and I am seeing some progress there. I can tell my chaturangas are stronger, my balance is a bit better, and I even held crow pose for the first time last weekend. I haven’t been biking as much, and I’ll probably keep it indoors until I can ride with people again.

(Here’s a picture of me doing crow for anyone who doesn’t follow me on Instagram)

Oh and lastly, I think Marshmallow is liking having us home. She’ll usually hang out with me for a bit in the morning, and then sometimes she’ll come hang out late afternoon too. If I’m still working when it’s close to being time for her to eat though then she’ll hop up on the desk and start being annoying haha.

It was almost 80 degrees on my run today, so I ran in tank top, shorts, and a lightweight buff (that I kept around my neck unless people were close by because, you know, being able to breathe is nice). Some dude yelled at me out the window of a truck... I couldn’t here what he said, just “why” and “running.” I assume he was making fun of my outfit, but you know, it doesn’t hurt.

Only way I could get Marahmallow to stop climbing all over everything was to hold her like this until my arm got tired.

If anyone is looking for a small internet rabbit hole to go down, today my parents reminded me that we basically lived next to the Tiger King/Joe Exotic of the 90s before we moved to Indiana.

Basically, this guy who owned a small “zoo” (that was close enough to my neighborhood that we could hear the lion roaring from home occasionally) tried to have his girlfriend’s husband murdered and got caught almost immediately.

I think the article below is the most entertaining, but a few more come up when you google his name.

These black capris went on their final run tonight, a nine-miler on a day that I really needed it, and the first short sleeve day of the year.

I’m not usually sentimental about clothing, but these guys were basically my first piece of running apparel, and have been through a lot of miles with me. I bought them the night before my first half marathon in 2011 from the Kohls kids section. I don’t remember how much I paid, but even newly-21-year-old Lindsay thought they were too cheap/too good a deal to pass up, so I’m guessing they were around $10. For the record, I bought them because I was killing time and my friend was working there; I didn’t wear them the next day (would have been too cold anyway.)

I’ve probably worn them for at least 5 half marathons, I ran my first marathon in them, and I’ve done several 5Ks in them too. Pictured above is my first marathon in 2014, first sub 1:45 in 2016, and another half marathon in 2018 (also a PR I think... first sub 1:38 if that’s a thing lol).

Finished my run today and realized they now have a hole that is not worth repairing. They had an ignorable one for awhile, so while this isn’t a surprise, I figured a Tumblr memorial was in order.

Thanks to having a cold, I’ve been using our home office for the first time this week. Marshmallow is digging the big window and watching dogs walk past.

So supposedly you’re not supposed to touch your pet’s chemo medicine. Ever since Marshmallow has been backing off of the steroids she eats a little slower, and getting her to swallow pills in food is difficult to impossible now. So I had her chemo pill completely in my hand for quite some time today, coaxing her to swallow it. I washed my hands a couple times, but still.

So I might wake up with a rotted hand tomorrow? Not sure what the effects of touching this medicine are but I guess I’ll find out 😬🤷‍♀️

Positives about January training:

- This month was my second highest run mileage in January ever (131 miles, last year was my highest at 138).

- it was my highest volume January ever (34:40)

- I also biked over 100 miles (106 miles)

- I had a functional movement screening done, and was recommended exercises to improve my hip flexor flexibility, ankle mobility, and VMO activation. I can already tell that these things are helping me move towards pain free running.

- I did my first bit of speedwork since Indy Monumental this week. It wasn’t super fast, but my hamstring felt ok the next day.

- I’m starting to feel like myself again with respect to training. I’m not as fit as I have been, but I actually believe I can get back there.